PUBLISHED ONOctober 30, 2025 11:30 AMBYCandice CaiIn her role as Leader of the House, Indranee Rajah is known for her no-nonsense demeanour in Parliament, where she is in charge of maintaining order and upholding parliamentary privilege.
She also holds three other portfolios, as second minister for National Development and Finance, as well as minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
However, the former lawyer gave people a rare glimpse into her personal life on an episode of CNA's series The Assembly 2, where public figures get interviewed by a group of neurodiverse individuals.
In the episode published on Wednesday (Oct 29), Indranee didn't shy away from tough questions about her work, the impact of her mum's death, her dating life, and even her trademark hairstyle — which she dubbed a "pob", or "political bob".
When asked how she responds to criticism that she has "not been fair" in managing conduct as Leader of the House — with her admonishment of Progress Singapore Party's secretary-general Leong Mun Wai as an example — the 62-year-old politician calmly replied that he'd made a remark which she thought "wasn't appropriate".
"If you look at the video, you will see that I actually spoke in a very even and measured tone," she said, despite the "dramatic [slow-motion] videos" put up online of the moment she put her file aside and stood up to address Leong.
She was also asked several questions about her family life, such as how it was like "growing up as a mixed-race child", to which she replied that she never thought of herself in that way.
"My parents always loved me for exactly who I am, so did my siblings, and therefore it didn't really feature in my childhood that I was mixed-race, other than the fact that I had access to both cultures, which was nice."
Another question by an interviewer was on what she would ask her late dad, if he were still around.
"The question I would ask would be quite similar to what many other children might ask their dad, which is, 'Do you think I did good?'"
Indranee lost her dad, former Deputy Commissioner of Police A T Rajah, when she was five years old. He'd died of liver disease at age 54. She also lost both her siblings in 1996 and 2007 to breast cancer and a heart attack respectively. Most recently, her mother Mavis passed on in August this year at the age of 102.
Stating that she's "coping okay" following her mum's death, Indranee indicated that she was heartened by the fact that her mother had enjoyed a very long life and she "had many good years with her".
"I was with her right up until the very end, and I think that was important, both for her as well as for me."
Indranee was also asked if she is lonely, being "the only one left" in her immediate family.
The answer was both yes and no.
"I'm one of those people that like their own space," said Indranee, adding that in her job, "just having me-time, alone time, is precious".
But she admitted that there are times "that you feel that you would like to have family around", before sharing that she sees the transition as a "new season in life".
"There'll be occasions when I feel lonely, then I'll just call some of my friends, and I have some really, really good friends," she shared, some of whom have been in her life since kindergarten and primary school.
Faced with a barrage of questions about her dating life and singlehood from participants, Indranee did not shy away either.
On whether she regrets not having children, she said: "You go with life as it comes, right? And since I've never met a particular person that I wanted to settle down with and I'm not married, then there's no children in the equation," she replied matter-of-factly.
She also said that she's not one of those people who look back at "what might have been".
"I'm sure if you ask, would it have been nice [to have found someone], I'm sure it would have been, but it just isn't the case, right?"
Asked if she's "seeing someone", Indranee laughed as she replied: "I see lots of people every day for all sorts of reasons, but no, not dating."
However, she appeared to hint in a reply to another question that there have been failed relationships.
"There were some occasions when relationships don't go well... But you shouldn't see that (not having a relationship) as something being wrong with you.
"What's most important is that you must be comfortable in your own skin, and you must be happy with who you are," she said, adding the caveat that some level of self-reflection must also be involved.
Asked pointedly if she feels that her political career has robbed her of a dating life, Indranee's answer was an emphatic "no".
She elaborated that politics has allowed her to broaden her horizons and given her the opportunity to contribute to Singapore through policies, as well as meet people she otherwise she would never have been able to.
Viewers even got to see a more humorous side of Indranee, such as when one journalist asked if being the Leader of the House is similar to being "like my mother, [the] leader of my house".
"Sometimes it feels like it, yeah," said Indranee with a laugh.
Coincidentally, a sense of humour is also one of her top criteria for a man — not that she is looking.
"Most importantly, he has to have washboard abs," she said, to a raucous response from those in attendance.
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candicecai@asiaone.com
